Broken Angel
By Brian Knight
Delirium Books (December, 2007)

Eugene Grim, known as Grim, is a seventeen-year-old foster boy who has spent most of his life on the street. For the past three years, his life has been better, as he's found a surrogate family in the small town of Clearwater, Idaho. Clara, his foster mother, took him in and raised him. His older brother, Danny, is a cop who she also cared for. Their lives change when a mysterious girl comes to Clearwater.

She shows up one night at Canyon Jack's, a local restaurant and hangout. She's thirteen and alone, sitting at a booth, staring into space, unresponsive. Everyone in the restaurant thinks she's odd. Old Man Wallen, a cranky old man, goes so far as to attack the girl. Michelle Kirkwood, a Clearwater teen, is the only person in Canyon Jack's who tries to stop him. She saves the girl's life by killing Wallen with his own cane.

When Danny arrives at the scene, Grim is with him. He sits by Michelle. No one else will go near her. The girl remains alone, with no family to be found. She's taken to the hospital where it's learned that she was heavily drugged with Ketamine and Rophynol, date rape drugs.

Clara decides that if no one claims the girl, she will take her in. Meanwhile, Michelle is grateful for the comfort Grim gave her on the terrible night, and so begins visiting him. They soon develop feelings for one another, though Michelle keeps it a secret from her mother, who is against Grim.

A couple weeks later, as the girl gets a little better, she is ready to move in with Clara and Grim. Her past is shrouded in mystery. No one knows anything about her, not even her name. She has no memories of her life, either. Clara names her Angel, saying that she is her angel.

As Angel heals, Clearwater gets chaotic. There are unexplained murders. Kids Grim knows are killed.

Aside from the town violence, Angel's past remains a mystery. Danny investigates to find out where she came from. He thinks her brother is the one who kept her drugged.

While the build-up of Broken Angel is strong, what follows is more confusing rather than a satisfying answer to anything. Ideas go unexplained. There are some passages told from the perspective of a creature in the woods. Though eventually it's revealed who this is, it's never explained how it came to be. This element doesn't seem to serve any purpose. Other extraneous subplots pop up late in the novel, which also don't really aid the main plot. Certain character motivations become unclear, leaving readers scratching their heads.

Broken Angel has some nice, at times almost sentimental, themes to it. The one of surrogate families stands out. Also, Michelle and Grim's growing relationship adds a touch of romance to the story. Despite this, the loose ends weaken it as a whole. Overall, it's a decent read, though more confusion arises than thrills.

--Angela Crockett